Police refer man in his 20s to prosecutors on robbery-murder charges in Gangbuk killing of man in his 70s

[Financial News] A man in his 20s arrested on suspicion of killing a man in his 70s he did not know in Seoul’s Gangbuk-gu has been referred to prosecutors on robbery-murder charges.
Police said on the 14th that the Seoul Gangbuk Police Station transferred Mr. Oh to the Seoul Northern District Prosecutors’ Office in custody that day on suspicion of robbery-murder, fraud, and violating the Specialized Credit Finance Business Act.
Mr. Oh is suspected of killing a man in his 70s identified as A and taking valuables from him at a home in Beon-dong, Gangbuk-gu, on the 3rd.
On the 4th, police received a report from an acquaintance who said they could not reach A and found him dead at his home at around 7 p.m. that day. Based on CCTV footage and other evidence, police identified Mr. Oh as a suspect and arrested him at around 1 a.m. on the 5th.
Police initially arrested Mr. Oh on suspicion of murder, but after further investigation determined that he had intended to take valuables by force and changed the charge to robbery-murder.
Police said Mr. Oh left the scene immediately after the crime with A’s cellphone, credit card, and gold ring. He later used the credit card fraudulently to make purchases worth 4.92 million won, among other things, and was found to have obtained financial benefits totaling 9.27 million won.
Under the Criminal Act, robbery-murder is punishable by death or life imprisonment. It carries a heavier penalty than ordinary murder, which is punishable by death, life imprisonment, or a prison term of at least five years.
Mr. Oh reportedly told police that he had never met A and said, “I went to confront him after our shoulders bumped on the street, and committed the crime impulsively.”
However, police said their analysis of CCTV footage along A’s route home from a bar in Suyu-dong, Gangbuk-gu, to his home in Beon-dong on the 3rd found no footage of him bumping shoulders with another person.
Earlier, the Seoul Northern District Court, with senior judge Park Sa-rang in charge of warrants, held a pre-detention hearing for Mr. Oh on the 7th and issued a warrant, citing concerns that he might destroy evidence or flee.
[email protected] Seo Ji-yoon Reporter